Two students from Saudi Arabia have won bronze medals in the 51st International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO) which was held from July 2 to 14 in Kazakhstan. Wael Al-Saeed and Abdullah Al-Saeed each won bronze medal while Abdul Majeed Al-Qassem and Nawaf Al-Ansari received certificates of appreciation for answering Olympiad questions correctly. The Kingdom was ranked 67th out of the 98 countries participating in the two-day Olympiad in which more than 1,500 students took part spending 4-1/2 hours answering each of three exam questions. Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah, Minister of Education and vice president of Mawhiba (King Abdul Aziz and His Companions Foundation for the Gifted), dedicated the success of Saudi students to King Abdullah, head of the foundation, Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, and Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior. “The good results of our students in the Mathematics Olympiad reflect the intensive care King Abdullah has demonstrated for talented male and female students,” Prince Faisal said. He added that the success assures that the Kingdom is on the way to becoming a knowledge-based community and economy. The King Abdul Aziz and His Companions Foundation for the Gifted supervised the IMO participation preparation program in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, King Saud University, King Abdulaziz University, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Qeyas (National Center for Assessment in Higher Education), King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and Saudi Aramco. The program started in the summer of 2009 with different workshops to develop the mathematics skills of students and eight students were finally selected out of 500 to represent the Kingdom in the international competition. The preparation program also benefited from the help of international experts, such as Dr. Teto Andresco from the United States, Dorain Andreka from Romania and Dr. Abdullah Al-Jueye and Dr. Fawzi Al-Thokair from King Saud University. “The International Mathematics Olympiad aims to increase the mathematics skills of talented students”, Mawhiba General Secretary Khaled Al-Sabtey said. He added that the Olympiad also plays a vital role in improving the quality of mathematics and science education. “The number of participants of the International Mathematics Olympiad increased from seven countries in 1959 to 98 countries this year,” said Dr. Al-Thokair. He added that although the two-day examination was very difficult, the Saudi students proved that they are talented as they received both medals and appreciation certificates.
